Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 115 The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 115 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total value of $2,685,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 248,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total value of $1,305,919.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,922.70. This represents a 23.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $283.38 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $166.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $260.88.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.87 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.65.

About Progressive

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.